Teens Q&As

What’s the problem with having sexual intercourse before marriage? I’m an intelligent, responsible and mature high school student, and I can’t see why having sex with someone I love is wrong. Most of the arguments I’ve heard against my position are religious in nature and I just don’t buy them. What’s your response to that?

Do you think I should join the army? My mom and dad are pacifists – they don’t believe Christians should fight in wars or submit to military service. I’m not sure I agree, and I’ve been thinking of joining up. Of course, my mom and dad are firmly opposed to the idea. What should I …

Will God send me to hell for masturbating? I’m a Christian, and everybody knows me as a “good kid” — active in youth group, involved in school leadership, cooperative with parents and teachers, and respected by my friends. But nobody knows about my masturbation habit. I feel really guilty.

Why has teen suicide has become such a huge problem in recent years? Several young people in our community have taken their own lives over the past year and a half. What’s causing this and how can the trend be reversed?

Can you give me one good reason why I should go on living my rotten life? My parents got divorced last year, and now my boyfriend wants to break up with me. School is a joke. My friends don’t care. Things have been bad before, but never this bad. I keep thinking that I’d be …

How can I find the right person to become involved with in a dating relationship? I’m a Christian high-schooler who is anxious to please God, but my past experiences with members of the opposite sex haven’t been very positive. What can I do to avoid this in the future?

How can I get over the anger I feel about being forced to leave my school, my friends, and my entire life behind as a result of my family moving to a new city when my dad was transferred? My parents keep telling me to snap out of it, but I can’t. In fact, there …

How can I free myself from the world of sexual slavery and human trafficking? I’m caught in the middle of a truly horrible situation! Through a series of circumstances that I can’t take time to describe, I’ve ended up under the control of a group of men who make their living by means of sexual …

How can I get my mother to realize that I’m not a kid anymore and that our relationship has changed? She and I have always been close, but it’s different now that I’m a teenager. Some of it’s my fault. I get moody, and I know that my behavior hurts her sometimes. I wish she …

What can I do about kids texting intimidating messages to my cell phone and posting mean rumors about me on Facebook? At first I tried to ignore them, but the situation has gotten so bad that I don’t want to show my face at school anymore. These people are destroying my life!

Can you help me deal with a mom who is always putting me down? Nothing I do is ever good enough for her. My room is never clean enough, my grades are never high enough, my friends are always a “bad influence,” and my hair and clothes are always an “embarrassment to the family.” There …

As a Christian, do I always have to make things right with someone I’ve offended? In Matthew 5:23 and 24 Jesus tells us to mend broken relationships before turning to God in worship or prayer. This verse has been weighing on my mind these past few days. I did something that may have been hurtful …

Do you think it’s wise to take a year off after graduating from high school? I’ve told my parents that I don’t want to enroll in college until next fall, but they have doubts about my plan. They’re concerned that I’ll lose momentum, and they’re also worried about my health insurance coverage. What do you …

Can you help me deal with a dad who is a very angry and abusive person? He’s never been physically violent, but he bad-mouths my mom, my sister, and me almost constantly. I’d move out if I was old enough, but I’m not. What can I do?

Why has God given teens such strong a sexual drive and no healthy, acceptable way to satisfy it? This just doesn’t seem fair. In Bible times people got married at a younger age. As a result, it was normal to have sex and start raising kids before you reached the age of 20. These days, …